Shards of RWBY
by The Flippant Writer
Summary: A repository of RWBY one-shots.
1. I'm Hot For You

I'm Hot For You

Disclaimer: RWBY is the intellectual property of Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. I claim no ownership.

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Pyrrha watched tranquilly as the flames of her love consumed the school she had come to cherish and despise in equal measure. People were running out of the buildings before the heat of her passion could cook them under their own Aura. Students and faculty with Water and Frost Dust were trying to temper the blaze that was her adoration before the Vale Fire Department finally arrived.

She wanted to stop them, but she wasn't arrogant enough to think she could do anything before being subdued. No, she would just have to content herself with watching. Her love had done enough, anyway. No one would ever doubt the magnitude of her feelings. Least of all the one she felt them for.

"Pyrrha!"

The redhead turned her head to see Jaune running for her. Her smile turned heartfelt and desperate affection filled her eyes. She held her arms out to embrace the man that had finally seen how much she cared for him.

Jaune did not sweep her into his arms, however. He stopped just short, hesitating just for a moment to glance at her outstretched arms, before he grabbed her hand. Not quite what she was expecting but perhaps he was more of a tender, romantic type. She felt her heart flutter at the thought of a romantic confession by the fireside.

"C'mon, we gotta go see if there are people still inside! Nora and Ren are already looking!" he shouted

To her confusion, he tried pulling her towards the burning buildings. Why did it matter if others were still inside? Their Aura should keep them safe until they made it out. What mattered was that their love was finally going to blossom. So Pyrrha dug her heels in and pulled back, determined to have the moment she desired.

Jaune was jerked back lightly, not expecting the resistance. When he turned around, he was met with her pouting face. She looked at him expectantly. He was dense, but there was no way he was _this_ dense.

"What is it?" he asked, looking genuinely confused.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. She should have known better. Her adorable partner was too dense to pick up on her signals even when they were burning the whole school down. It looks like she'd have to spell it out for him.

In retrospect, spelling it out for him before now would have made things much simpler. Oh well.

"Jaune, what do you think _this_\- " she motioned towards the burning school " -is?"

The boy blinked several times in rapid succession before responding, "It's our school on fire, Pyrrha! We can't just stand here, we have to _help!_"

Once again, the object of her affections tried to pull her towards the school, but she resisted again. Honestly, this whole hard-to-get thing was becoming silly.

"Come on!" Jaune pleaded.

She shook her head, "Jaune, let me ask you something. Do you think a random fire would have even had a chance in a school full of people who can control the elements?"

That brought him short. Pyrrha could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he mulled over her words. To her relief, realization sparked in his eyes.

"Are you saying someone _purposely_ set this fire?"

Finally, she could get to the heart of the matter. _His_ heart, to be more precise. Pyrrha shook her head and smiled lovingly at the blond.

"Not 'someone', Jaune. _Me_."

For a long moment, the only sounds were the roaring inferno that symbolized her love and the shouting of those who were trying to snuff it. A low rumbling sound suffused the air, and Pyrrha surmised it was a Fire Department airship rushing to Beacon's aid.

Finally, Jaune spoke in a low voice that was torn between befuddlement and terror.

"Pyrrha..._why_...?"

She stepped closer to Jaune and basked in the electric feeling of intimacy that raced across her skin as she entered his personal space. She reached up and gently caressed his cheek, trying to convey through action just how much she cherished him.

Pyrrha looked up into eyes adoringly, a breathless near-whisper leaving her lips.

"Because I love you."

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**A/N****: I'm not going to say I'm starting to get back into the groove, because whenever I say that I tend to fall off the wagon. But I do feel my creative juices flowing a little more. This whole thing will just be bits of writing that struck my fancy but I don't intend on expanding. It's pretty much a place for me to purge miscellaneous ideas. If you'd like to take a crack at anything that shows up in here, just let me know before you do.**

**This piece in particular was inspired by the RWBY Shipping Thread on RWBYForums. Someone pointed out that Pyrrha's name is essentially derived from fire and Jaune's name is derived from someone who was burned at the stake. Then another person mentioned having an idea about Pyrrha burning the school down because she was sick of Jaune ignoring her in favor of Weiss. Boop boop badoop I wrote this up in response.**

**Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Whispers of a Snake

Whispers of a Snake

Disclaimer: RWBY is the intellectual property of Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. I claim no ownership.

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"Do you honestly think these people see you as anything more than a tool? Something to be used and discarded?"

Penny shook her head resolutely, "That's not true! They care about me!"

Roman sneered at her assertion, "Oh, they do, do they? Tell me, were you ever allowed to go and enjoy free time among society without sneaking out? Have you ever just 'hung out' with those people you call 'friends'? Have you created fond memories of enjoying a simple life? Or were you just there to fight their battles and then be abandoned as soon as it was over?"

The synthetic girl tensed and her eyes narrowed, "That's- !"

"What? Understandable? Excusable? Well then tell me, Penny-dear, when _does_ their neglect become unacceptable? When are_they_ held accountable for the loneliness you feel?" the rogue continued, his poisoned words flowed like thick honey. Some small part of her couldn't help but see the sense in what he was saying.

A larger part was telling her that this man was a snake.

Penny shook her head again, "You're wrong, Mr. Torchwick. They're my friends, and I won't let you trick me into believing otherwise."

The debonair criminal shrugged nonchalantly and leaned back into his cell.

"Fine, they must be good people if you trust them so much."

There was something wrong with the way he had conceded so easily and it didn't sit well with her. It seemed he wouldn't leave off on those words, though.

"But the greatest betrayals are committed by those we trust, Penny. When you've accomplished your purpose, what then? Do you really think they'll have a cozy place for a robot in their perfect little utopia?" Roman asked rhetorically. His voice was soft and self-assured.

"No, when you've done their dirty work, they'll cast you aside. So why not just skip all the heartache and join the outcasts?"

Rather than respond, Penny turned on her heel and walked away from the silver-tongued devil. She would not grace his absurd notions with further discussion. As she walked, his treacherous words rebounded in her mind. They breathed their foul whispers into her ear and dug at her confidence. Finally, when she could take it no more, she internally accessed her hard drive and sought out that damn conversation in an attempt to delete the audio. Finding and isolating the portion of data she wanted to delete took less than a second.

It took far, far longer for her to decide whether or not to delete it.

Penny stood in an empty hallway, wrestling with the decision to delete that small segment of her memories. Finally, she decided against it. To force herself to forget his words felt too much like admitting he was right. He wasn't, and she would prove it.

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**A/N****: Short one this time. Some of us on RWBYForums were talking about the possibility to Roman tricking Penny into switching sides and I came up with this bit to illustrate how I think such a scene might go.**


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